Lorenzo Revuelto-Taboada

The business plan as a project: an evaluation of its predictive capability for business success

Although there is extensive research aimed at identifying the main success factors for new ventures, efforts directed at evaluating the real effect of the existence and quality of a business plan on a firms survival chances have been limited. This study attempts to fill this gap by analyzing to what extent the quality of a business plan, measured according to its economic, financial and organizational viability, constitutes a good predictor of business survival; and how other variables related to the characteristics of the entrepreneur and the business can affect the predictive capability of the model under consideration. Hypotheses are tested using data collected from 2142 service firms. The results show that none of the three variables that evaluate business plan quality (economic, financial and organizational viability) seems to have a determining influence on survival chances. Adding essential characteristics related to the entrepreneur and the business (education and training, experience, kind of motivation, number of employees and start-up capital) does little to increase the models predictive capabilities.

Influence of economic crisis on new SME survival: reality or fiction?

Abstract The aim of this research was to analyse the survival of new ventures during periods of economic crisis. The article compares survival probability during growth and crisis periods. An empirical study was used to analyse new venture survival probability. Results show that new firms have a greater likelihood of surviving during crisis periods than they do during growth periods. An additional aim of the study was to analyse the survival probability of opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs during crisis periods. Results show that gaps in survival likelihood between opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship are bigger during times of crisis than they are during growth periods.

How BATNAs perception impacts JVs negotiations

Purpose – In light of the inconclusive findings in literature, the aim of this paper is to answer the question: how can negotiation behavior be explained in a situation of power imbalance?Design/methodology/approach – Based on Kim et al., the paper proposes a theoretical model that is empirically studied through a case study.Findings – Power relationship is a key contextual factor in determining negotiation behavior in joint ventures (JVs), but it has to be defined more in terms of the perceived value of the alternatives rather than the amount of available better alternatives to a negotiation agreement (BATNAs). Thus, when a partner looks to gain access to knowledge (market, technology, etc.) about the counterpart, although it has a greater number of BATNAs, they perceive a situation of mutual dependency.Practical implications – Understanding how the negotiating context affects behavior is crucial for firms to anticipate the reactions and behavior of their counterparts and thus display suitable behavior t...